I had a similar experience a couple of years ago at a lake in between Duvall and Monroe. Although the sounds of distant gunfire were heard throughout the day, I didn’t really think much of it. Having spent a lot of time in the country as a kid, this did not strike me as something to be very concerned about. Anyhow, I had just finished fishing and was stowing my gear when 3 or 4 bullets whizzed past approximately 10 feet away. From what I could tell, they had been fired from the ridge directly above. I don’t know what the shooter’s intentions were, but the shooting stopped immediately thereafter.

Only incident for me in 27 years here in WA was on the Satsop while floating the bridge to the mouth. Someone was likely sighting in a rifle and we had several rounds hit the opposite bank...very unnerving. We shouted our heads off and it stopped. I do hope we're not becoming too cavalier about shooting firearms in the ever lessening wide open spaces.

One time 25 years ago or so, I was on Lenice in the fall, and had shotgun pellets coming down near me often, likely from nearby duck hunters. I was certain no one was shooting at me, and it was still a little unnerving. On at least one occasion, a couple of the pellet hit my back and my hat. There were traveling at such a slow speed, there was no pain, just the feeling of light impact.

Once up by northport on the upper Columbia rifle rounds went over my head and hit the water fifty yards out. Just a case of irresponsibility. Target shooters at the rock pit up the hill randomly started shooting the water.
Another time, my nephew and I had spent the day deer hunting near republic. On the way back we hit an area lake one last time before it closed. We were having a blast casting small beadhead woolybuggers to feisty 10-14inch kokanee. Out of nowhere a volley of .22 rounds slapped the water right between me and my nef. We were only fifteen yards apart. Pure luck neither of us were hit. Thinking someone was intentionally trying to shoot us we ran over to the rig and pulled our deer rifles out. More bullets rained down as I called out, "We're going to shoot back!" Two heads popped up on the ridge above us, then two young kids of about thirteen ran off like their pants were on fire. We later pieced together they weren't shooting at us, but at the garbage can at the vacant campsite above us. Scared the shit out of the little punks when they looked over the hill and saw two guys staring at them through the scopes of large caliber rifles.

I had a similar experience on the Naches River, let's see, the year was about 1962. I was 13 at the time, my buddy and I were fishing from the bank and two men started shooting .22's towards us from across the river. Bullets were skipping off the river and impacting around us when we took cover in some rocks. I can't remember any other experiences like it since then but once was enough.

Got shot at a couple of times overseas but that was business not recreational.

Oh, there was that time when I was 6 walking the sage brush, bird hunting with my father on a foggy day outside of Ellensburg, oh, about 1954. A couple of deer hunters thought we looked like deer when we were silhouetted on the ridge line and they unloaded at us. But that was just stupid, not intentional.

A couple years ago, I was fishing on the Naches just a little below The Woodshed. My chocolate lab, my best girlfriend ever, was with me. Suddenly, BLAM!, a shotgun blast real close behind me in the willows. I was thinking "What the hell? Nothing's open yet." Then a duck dropped out of the sky into the river about 30 ft. from me. My lab knew exactly what to do. She swam out there and retrieved the duck. We pushed our way back through the brush and ran into a guy and his boy with a shotgun. The guy said he was so sorry to be shooting so close. He was out with his boy on one of those early youth openings. He had just walked down to the river, hadn't looked around much, a duck came by, the kid took the shot. He didn't think the boy had hit it. The little shaver got a big kick out of getting his duck delivered by my lab.

Lots of shooting up the Naches last weekend, but it seemed most likely guys were sighting in their guns for this weekend's opener.

What's scary is fishing the Klickitat on opening day of modern firearm deer. Sounds like a DMZ. The campgrounds are over filled. The roads are busy. What bugs me is when I hear a single shot, pause, then rapid fire blam, blam, blam, blam, blam, as some amped up inexperienced hunter misses his first shot and then empties his clip into the brush at an unseen fleeing target. I wear a lot of orange and I don't care if the fish see me. In fact, I think I'll skip the Klickitat this weekend.

had a serious bb fight once, errrrr, using 12 gauges, blind to blind maybe 200 yards away... at blue creek with a guide, a bankee fired a single shot that hit the water ten feet away, and twice i have almost been shot while deer hunting..... its like rain out here in the outdoors, ya prepare for it, but hope it dont.